Antwaun Cook Defends Fantasia: Don't Blame Her for My Broken Marriage

That is the message from Antwaun Cook, who allegedly had an affair with the singer and is now splitting from his wife Paula Cook.

“Antwaun would be remiss not to address the criticism and judgment he has received,” Cook’s lawyer, Nicole Sodoma, said Wednesday in a statement. “He knew Fantasia Barrino but the failure of his marriage can in no way be blamed on anyone except the two people that were a part of the union – Paula and Antwaun.”

The American Idol season 3 winner, 26, acknowledged she dated Cook “off and on for about 11 months” but said she believed he had separated from his wife.

“[Paula and Antwaun] expected their marriage to stand the test of time,” adds Sodoma. “Unfortunately, like many marriages, it did not turn out as planned. In late summer 2009, after years of discussion, the parties separated with the intention of no longer being married.”

Cook’s wife, however, stated in court documents that the couple split on June 16, 2010.

A lawyer for Barrino had no comment when asked if the singer and Cook were still a couple. The two were recently spotted meeting up at a park near her North Carolina home – with camera crews in tow for her reality show, Fantasia for Real, according to a source.